Stupid Questions about Naval Aviation (Part 3)

[Gatordev]

He was likely wearing subdued wings. In the field, shiny rank insignia is drab. Silver is black, and gold is brown or bronzish. As far as why people wear subdued wings with anodized rank, I have no idea. Actual gold shouldn't tarnish like silver.

Maybe tarnish is the wrong word, since like you said, gold shouldn't do that. How about "aged and salty?" My gold wings are a different color (darker and more aged) than the standard anodized NEX wings, but that has come with 15 years of not doing anything to them.

But ltedge and BzB are probably on target.

 

[Flash]

Also could be the antiqued looking wings that you can buy, kind of distressed bronze in color. Did they look like this... http://www.vanguardmil.com/navy-badge-aviator-regulation-size-antique-gold-p-3761.html

I believe they come in the double anchor variety also.

Could they have been the authorized, but rarely worn NA "Antique" Wings? Back in the day Antiques were popular with AWGs & working (wash) khakis, both of which have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Still carried by your local NEX though.
View attachment 13280
BzB

Marines often wear the 'antiqued' wings with their fatigues when wearing all 'subdued' insignia. I have seen a few Navy guys wear them them when in khakis but only a small minority though a persistent one since I have been in the service. The gold ones are less antiqued and more 'bronzed', a distinctly darker but saltier looking shade of gold.

Even rarer would be the 'bullion' Naval Aviator wings, the only place I have seen them for sale was at Abbott's in P'cola (and now online.....) and have seen them worn just a few times and only in SDBs. I picked up a pair of NFO ones the last time I was in town.

 

[ltedge46]

Even rarer would be the 'bullion' Naval Aviator wings, the only place I have seen them for sale was at Abbott's in P'cola (and now online.....) and have seen them worn just a few times and only in SDBs. I picked up a pair of NFO ones the last time I was in town.

Never thought about getting these for SDB's since you would have to remove and re-sew them everytime you added another row of ribbons. I did want to get a set for my greens but could never find a pair of NFO bullion wings with the green background.

 

[Flash]

Never thought about getting these for SDB's since you would have to remove and re-sew them everytime you added another row of ribbons. I did want to get a set for my greens but could never find a pair of NFO bullion wings with the green background.

You don't need to sew them on, mine has regular pins on black felt backgound so you can put it on just like a regular pair of wngs. And the one or two times that I saw them worn on AWGs they had the black felt background and it looked just fine on the greens.

 

[ltedge46]

Oh, never seen them pinned on, that's a good idea, I'll have to look into getting a set. Agree with you about black on the AWG but that's kind of OBE now that they're no longer authorized.

 

[BusyBee604]

You don't need to sew them on, mine has regular pins on black felt backgound so you can put it on just like a regular pair of wngs. And the one or two times that I saw them worn on AWGs they had the black felt background and it looked just fine on the greens.

The aviators who ALWAYS wore the 'Bullion' wings, were the old time "Flying Chiefs", salty, hard-nosed ol' CPOs who were also Naval Aviators (always wore AWGs). When I hit my first fleet Squadron at NAS Alameda in '58, there were a number of them there, and at Moffett Field. By this time they flew mostly VR in R-4/-5/-6Ds & R-4Ys, and most had ~20-30K+ hours logged, and ate JOs for lunch, snookered us in bar dice & hi-end card games... colorful and fun to be around they were, but by '62 they were but another colorful group in NA history!

BzB

 

[Flash]

Oh, never seen them pinned on, that's a good idea, I'll have to look into getting a set. Agree with you about black on the AWG but that's kind of OBE now that they're no longer authorized.

You can't tell they are pinned on since the wings are sewn into a black felt background that is then pinned onto the jacket. Abbot's is the only place I have ever seen the NFO ones for sale.

 

[futureflyr]

Thank you all for the answers. I never would have known there were different types of wings.

 

[brownshoe]

The aviators who ALWAYS wore the 'Bullion' wings, were the old time "Flying Chiefs", salty, hard-nosed ol' CPOs who were also Naval Aviators (always wore AWGs). When I hit my first fleet Squadron at NAS Alameda in '58, there were a number of them there, and at Moffett Field. By this time they flew mostly VR in R-4/-5/-6Ds & R-4Ys, and most had ~20-30K+ hours logged, and ate JOs for lunch, snookered us in bar dice & hi-end card games... colorful and fun to be around they were, but by '62 they were but another colorful group in NA history!
View attachment 13281
BzB

I remember once going to Yuma on the Cecil Field station plane, a Dakota (mid 60's). The pilot was an E-9 Marine, the copilot was a Navy O-4. This E-9 Marine earned his wings during Korea I later learned. Heck…Chuck Yeager started as an enlisted pilot.

 

[MIDNJAC]

This E-9 Marine earned his wings during Korea I later learned.

Man......to think we complained about flight school nowadays......FAM 1......take me to MIG alley, and if we come back, you get an above

 

[DPS2114]

Didn't know where to post this question so I figured the "Stupid Questions..." forum was as good as any.

As a navy pilot how often do you fly when you are not deployed? Deployed? I am assuming it varies depending on what you actually fly.

Anyone with experience can you help me out.

Thanks

 

[jtmedli]

Didn't know where to post this question so I figured the "Stupid Questions..." forum was as good as any.

As a navy pilot how often do you fly when you are not deployed? Deployed? I am assuming it varies depending on what you actually fly.

Anyone with experience can you help me out.

Thanks

I'm flying about 25-35 hours a month on deployment. We have too many pilots and not enough hours right now so it would be more than that if we had the dets we're supposed to have.

At the beach, it's more like 10-15 a month in my squadron.

I'm an HSC helo guy.

 

[OscarMyers]

You don't need to sew them on, mine has regular pins on black felt backgound so you can put it on just like a regular pair of wngs. And the one or two times that I saw them worn on AWGs they had the black felt background and it looked just fine on the greens.

Have you ever seen these for whites? I think my first wings being an embroidered set would be an awesome heirloom for the kiddos.

 

[Flash]

Have you ever seen these for whites? I think my first wings being an embroidered set would be an awesome heirloom for the kiddos.

No, never, only on SDB's and AWG's. I don't think they would look right on whites since they are embroidered on a black felt background.

 

[Aware]

Here's a stupid question that's probably been asked a million times: should I go Air Force or Navy if I want to be a fighter pilot?
A very broad question, I know. However, I can't tell which one will do me more good. I'm signed up for Air Force ROTC right now, but something almost keeps telling me to go over to the Navy for some reason. Same intuition that made me switch from Mechanical Engineering to Physics as a college major. Anyways, can you guys offer any opinions/facts for either side?